They have exactly the same system in the UK and it works perfectly. Also issues fines for speeding. There seems to be a trend on this board that every time the government introduces something new, people just say "it won't work". I for one think this is a good idea. We know that many many deaths are caused on the roads. Anything which deters dangerous driving is great, sure it may not work in every case but if it stops just a few deaths each week it's worth every cent.
Well, the reason why we are all a bit sceptic about these "reforms" might be because we know the local situation and UK and DR is not the same in ANY way.
We can just take it from the top.
First of all, there are already laws that prohibit anyone from running a red light and gives DIGESETT agents the right to fine you. Here in Sosúa for the past 10 years, it's very rare to see those DIGESETT agents out on the streets actually dealing with the issue. And I find that kind of interesting, because if they were interested in actually doing something about it. They would take their officers and place them in locations where it is very common to break traffic laws. Instead basically the only times I've seen them, they are outside their office or close by, maybe once a month. It's actually a standing joke, that DIGESETT(former AMET) only appears when it's Payday, to get some extra cash in their pockets. So if the ones responsible for upholding the law would actually do their job it would be noticeable.
Then we have the supposed "consequences". Let's just establish something first, the VAST majority, I would even say 90-95% of those running a red light are motos. So then how would those consequences affect motos?
“If this offender does not pay the fine, he/she will not be able to renew their driver’s license". First of all, there are A LOT of moto drivers who don't have a valid license and also the licenses are normally valid for at least 5 years, so then that person won't be bothered in 5 years. "the vehicle permit to drive (marbete)",Motos doesn't have Marbetes, so that's not relevant. "or the insurance of the vehicle." Same as the one with the license, A LOT of moto drivers don't have a valid insurance. So many times have I heard stories of friends and others who have had an accident with a moto, and they have asked the "gringo" for money and when they are asked to show insurance they have just dropped the claim, just because they don't have any insurance that is required by LAW.
"The person will not obtain a certificate of No Delinquency or leave the country," Then we have this, yeah if they're applying for a job sometimes they are required to get a certificate of "No delinquency", but I would guess it's quite rare. Leave the country?? Those who drive moto doesn't normally have the funds to be able to travel abroad or get all required documents to be able to leave, so that's kind of irrelevant.
Then we have the issue that has already been brought up. A vast majority doesn't drive vehicles that are registered in their own name. As it's a very common practice that if you sell your car, the new owners doesn't register it but keeps the same registration information. I once owned a vehicle that had 5 owners between me and the registered owner, and because it was such a hassle trying to register it to my name it wasn't worth it. Owned another vehicle where the sellers had bought it from someone that my wife went to school with and he didn't live in the country anymore and was totally unaware that he was still registered to that vehicle. Also there because there was so inconvenient to register to my name I didn't do that, and I sold that car later on and I can still see that it is registered to the original owner.
So then if they are just going to use the numberplate to register ALOT of innocent people will be fined, just because they are still the registered owners to the vehicle.
So these are some of the reasons this WON'T work. The only ones that will be affected are those who have done everything 100% to the law, and normally those people won't run a red light. I would probably be affected by these new cameras, but I don't run red lights (only at night when there is no traffic to speak of).
You could make an analogy of this. When building a house you don't start with the roof, you start with the foundation. With "reforms"/"solutions" like these, it's like they are fixing the roof when they should actually begin at the bottom and try to fix the foundation, the root issue. Educate their officers, make sure that at least they obey the law 100%, get those officers out on the streets. Make everyone to register their vehicles, and stuff like that.
But then we are in DR.
